Hold up, Minnesota, because this is a gut punch no one needed right now: All-Star pitcher Joe Ryan is officially heading back to Minneapolis, not for a celebratory parade, but for an urgent evaluation on a nagging back and glute issue. His next start? Forget about it, it’s seriously up in the air. This isn’t just a routine check-up; the guy left the squad right after their 8-2 shellacking by the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. When your ace is getting whisked away for medical scans mid-season, you know it’s not good.
What’s Actually Going Down With Joe Ryan?
Manager Derek Shelton isn’t pulling any punches, telling The Athletic that the team is “trying to figure out” the full story. And honestly, who wouldn’t be? Ryan himself is reportedly “frustrated and not able to replicate his delivery.” An All-Star, whose career is built on repeating that exact motion a hundred times a game, can’t even get his body to do what it needs to do. That’s a fundamental problem! Shelton was quick to clarify they don’t believe the injury is arm-related, but he explicitly pinned the issue to Ryan’s lower body. After the Royals game, Ryan didn’t have a big update for reporters, but he did make it clear he “definitely” didn’t feel capable on the mound. When a pitcher says he can’t trust his own body to make a pitch, that’s not just a red flag; it’s a whole red emergency beacon. The specifics of the injury might be under wraps for now, but the impact is already crystal clear.
The Numbers Tell a Brutal Story
This injury news lands right in the middle of a brutal slide for Ryan, making you wonder if this physical issue has been brewing. That 8-2 loss to the Royals on Tuesday? He coughed up four runs and seven hits. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg, man. Over his last three starts, every single one of them a loss for the Twins, Ryan has been absolutely shelled. We’re talking a horrifying 9.39 ERA and a mind-boggling 25 hits allowed across those three outings. And who could forget last month, when he gave up a major league record six home runs in one start against the Cleveland Guardians? This isn’t the dominant All-Star we expect. The manager said they “owe it to him and to us to find out what he’s feeling and how he’s going about it.” It certainly feels like the “how he’s going about it” part, that inability to repeat his delivery, has been impacting his performance big time.
The Stakes Just Got Higher for the AL Central
You can bet this whole situation is a massive, frustrating gut punch for a Twins team that just went all-in at the trade deadline. They made moves, big moves, bringing in four new pitchers, including starter Dean Kremer from the Baltimore Orioles, because they believed in this season! Before Wednesday’s contest, they were sitting at a frustrating 56-58 record and had lost three of their last five games. Yet, despite the recent struggles, they’re still in third place in the AL Central. They’re only a game behind the Cleveland Guardians, and just four games out of first place overall in the division. That AL Central title, a trophy they haven’t hoisted since 2023, is absolutely still within reach! But pulling off a division run, a serious charge for first place, is going to be significantly harder if your All-Star pitcher is sidelined for an extended period. Ryan is currently scheduled to start again on Sunday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers. That game, and every one after it, now hangs under a cloud of uncertainty. The Twins need answers, and fast, before this lower body issue sinks their season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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